The Librarians from the Children's Department share the best of children's books and activities at Glendale Public Library, Glendale, California. Readers are invited to leave comments about one of the reviews or contact us directly at TreeHouse@glendalepubliclibrary.org.
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Monday, February 04, 2013

TOY STORIES

The Montrose branch library hosted a stuffed animal
sleepover on January 26th.
Children dropped off their favorite stuffed animals at the library and
returned the following week to see pictures of the adventures their friend had
while the library was closed. They were amazed to see pictures of their stuffed
animals checking out books, hiding in the shelves, using computers, and even
taking a field trip to Andersen’s Pet Store.

Toys (especially stuffed animals) are an important part of
childhood. They inspire imagination, encourage creativity, and create memories.
It’s not uncommon for children to come up with personalities for their stuffed
animals and imagine what kind of adventures they must have when we are not
watching.

In Hooray for Harry, written
and illustrated by Kim Lewis, three
stuffed animals have quite an adventure while their owner is not around.
Wanting to take a nap, Harry the elephant, is distraught to discover that his
favorite blanket is missing! Recruiting help from fellow stuffed animals, Ted
the teddy bear and Lulu the lamb, they set off into the yard while retracing
their steps from a very active afternoon. Will the blanket ever turn up so
Harry can take his much needed nap?

Sometimes disaster can befall our beloved stuffed animals,
as we see in Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale written
and illustrated by Mo Willems. A
routine trip to the Laundromat for Trixie and her stuffed rabbit quickly turns
perilous when Knuffle Bunny is left behind. Readers will quickly figure out
what is about to happen to Knuffle Bunny as the illustrations reveal Knuffle
Bunny peeking out from the laundry basket as clothes are loaded into the
washing machine and later peering out from behind the machine’s glass window.
Poor Trixie quickly realizes her friend has been left behind, but like any
frustrated pre-verbal toddler, can’t seem to make her daddy understand what has
happened. Will Trixie and Knuffle Bunny ever be reunited?

What Does My Teddy
Bear Do All Day?, written by Bruno Hachler and illustrated by Birte Muller, follows a little girl who
is determined to see her teddy bear’s antics for herself. She believes that by
staying home for the day and spying on her bear, she will catch him in the act
of jumping on her bed, painting pictures, dancing to the radio, or whatever it
is that our stuffed animals do during their unobserved hours. She’s so focused
on the teddy bear that she fails to notice what her other toys are getting up
to behind her back. Just when it seems that the teddy bear is going to sit very
still all day, something happens when the little girl’s back is turned while
retrieving a jar of honey…